Table 1.
Advantages and disadvantages of liposomes preparation methods.
| Methods | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| DRV/thin film hydration | Simple, high EE for lipophilic drugs | Use of organic solvent, low EE for hydrophilic drugs, MLV formed, heterogeneity, difficulty scaling up, size reduction required |
| RPE | Simple, high EE for hydrophilic drugs | Challenge removing organic solvent, LUV and MLV formed, low EE for lipophilic drugs, not suitable for fragile molecules, size reduction required |
| Injection | Simple, SUV formed in one step, good reproducibility | Heterogeneity, low EE, possible degradation of active drug, difficulty removing ethanol, time consuming |
| Emulsion | High EE, control over liposomes size | Use of organic solvent, LUV formed, multiple steps |
| Detergent removal | No organic solvent used, proteins encapsulation, size uniformity, good reproducibility | LUV formed, poor EE of hydrophobic drugs, detergent residues, time consuming |
| Sonication | Easy, formation of SUVs | Possible degradation of phospholipids, possible metallic pollution when using probe |
| Extrusion | Simple, size uniformity, SUV formation, good reproducibility | Use of high pressure, possible clogging of membrane, product loss, laborious, time consuming |
| Microfluidization | SUV formation in one step, continuous production, size uniformity, good EE [29] | Use of organic solvent, requires specific setup, high energy and pressure used, difficult large scale production, costly [30] |
| Freeze-drying | Storage stability, sterile liposomes, extended shelf-life | Applications might be limited when carbohydrates are used as cryo-protectants, low EE, potential damage to bilayer and size increase of liposomes due to membrane fusion [31,40] |
| Heating | No organic solvent used, sterile product [17], scalable | High temperature makes continuous manufacturing impractical, low EE, LUV formed, size reduction required |
| SuperLip | SUV formation in one step, continuous production, superior high EE, size uniformity, no organic solvent | Use of high pressure, more complex |
| Active encapsulation | High EE, stable retention of drug [39] | Only applies to amphipathic weak bases/acids, complex synthesis of some derivatives [16] |